The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 397

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 397.
It was the best question that could be asked with a single opportunity.
Silence fell, and Shin San Ja’s voice emerged from within the wall.
[The culprit is someone no one in this world could know.]
After a brief pause, Shin San Ja continued.
[Because… Yeomsa Bu Chanyang personally erased all traces to prevent Hyung Su from being found.]
Certainty resonated in Shin San Ja’s voice.
[As if he were taking revenge for himself, yet wished it to appear otherwise.]
There were undoubtedly traces of Hyung Su’s martial techniques etched upon my grandfather’s body.
Eyes gouged out, both arms severed, and poisoned projectiles imbued with vicious toxin unleashed.
But what traces could possibly be erased?
[What Yeomsa Bu Chanyang erased was the very fact that Hyung Su had ever come here.]
Shin San Ja answered calmly, as if seeing through Bu Eunseol’s innermost thoughts.
[Swordsmen who have devoted their entire lives to the blade and reached the pinnacle of mastery can wield orthodox sword techniques with perfect freedom. It is quite difficult to identify someone based solely on the wounds left upon a corpse.]
In that instant, sparks ignited in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
Shin San Ja knows about my grandfather with certainty. And… even who I am.
There is no way such an answer could be given otherwise.
‘Is Shin San Ja the culprit?’
My heart began to race violently.
To know about me and my grandfather? There are only two possibilities.
Either Hyung Su, who has been observing both of us for a long time… or someone who has known my grandfather since long ago.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
I suppressed my wildly racing heart and my emotions.
‘I must endure.’
I learned composure from Jo Cheon Wang.
The composure to speak leisurely even in the presence of one’s enemy. It was an absolutely essential quality when facing a superior adversary.
—How do you know about Yeomsa Bu Chanyang?
I wanted to shatter that wall immediately and cry out these words.
Yet I maintained a terrifyingly cold composure and said nothing.
There is only one opportunity for repayment.
If I lose my composure now and demand answers about this, I might not even obtain the information Shin San Ja possesses.
[However, there is a clue regarding the culprit.]
As I maintained a terrifying silence, Shin San Ja spoke again with a tone tinged with admiration.
[It is that Hyung Su is a member of the Murim Alliance.]
A shocking revelation.
Even if Hyung Su’s martial prowess reached the pinnacle and concealed both technique and variation in execution, the cruel and vicious sword intent left behind remains an unchanging fact.
Moreover, did he not employ the poisoned projectiles of Saixiang, which even those of the Demonic Path fear?
But Hyung Su is a member of the Murim Alliance?
Breaking my long silence, I asked coldly.
“The culprit’s identity has not been confirmed, so how do you know he belongs to the Murim Alliance?”
[An order to kill Yeomsa Bu Chanyang had been transmitted within the Murim Alliance.]
In that instant, Bu Eunseol could deduce who had conveyed that order.
“Within the Murim Alliance, then….”
[Precisely. The faction you just conjured in your mind. They are the ones.]
Shin San Ja was pointing toward the Three Realms.
Yet Bu Eunseol could not accept his words at face value.
Her grandfather Bu Chanyang had cultivated both the Orthodox Sects’ supreme martial techniques and Shaolin’s supreme inner energy, yet he was a man who revealed no trace of any martial art.
“Then are you saying the Three Realms manipulated the Three Sovereigns or even the Murim Alliance Master?”
Shin San Ja, having grasped the meaning behind Bu Eunseol’s words, spoke.
[The Murim Alliance is far more formidable and terrifying than what is known… far more than what you imagine.]
The voice of Shin San Ja flowing from the wall carried a peculiar resonance.
[Despite the Demonic Path flourishing as never before, the Orthodox Sects maintain supremacy—because of hidden power. Just observe the Seven Lords who crouch concealed without revealing their true forms.]
“….”
[Of course, the most crucial matter is Yeomsa Bu Chanyang. That he abandoned life of his own volition.]
Bu Eunseol felt indignation rising within her.
She instinctively sensed that Shin San Ja was withholding information he possessed.
“I have paid the debt of gratitude. Yet I receive not a single proper answer in return.”
[Ordinarily, one answer per debt of gratitude is the custom. However, since I cannot reveal the exact culprit, I am providing information related to it—extraordinarily so.]
Shin San Ja’s voice grew progressively colder.
It sounded like a warning: provoke me further, and I shall answer no more.
‘So he intends to speak only what he wishes.’
Bu Eunseol must extract every scrap of information Shin San Ja possessed.
Otherwise, all her suffering thus far would be rendered meaningless.
“Then I shall not ask questions.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with measured calm.
“Instead, tell me everything you know.”
It was a remarkably astute remark that pierced straight to Shin San Ja’s core.
The information Shin San Ja provided was limited, deliberately curated even.
Which meant Shin San Ja himself must desire something from Bu Eunseol.
Otherwise, he would not have lured her to Shaolin in the first place.
‘Perhaps he means to manipulate me.’
[Indeed, your intellect is as renowned as I have heard.]
Shin San Ja uttered an exclamation as though he had seen through Bu Eunseol’s innermost thoughts.
[Then I shall tell you all that I know.]
And he continued in a low voice.
[As you well know, every faction and alliance is rife with spies—those who serve hidden masters or respond to external forces. The Murim Alliance is no exception.]
Bu Eunseol listened intently, her lips sealed.
[They manipulated the Murim factions as they pleased. When they were established, who their true leader is—these remain shrouded in mystery… yet.]
Shin San Ja’s voice rose and fell like the wailing cry of a phantom.
[Divided into three each—the heavens, or the world itself—they are called the Three Heavens, or the Three Realms.]
I had already learned all of these facts from the Blue-Eyed Man.
Yet Bu Eunseol kept her lips sealed and listened intently to Shin San Ja’s words.
[And whenever they revealed themselves to the world, they used different names each time. The force currently driving the movements of the Murim powers is what we call the First Heaven—the Infinite Realm.]
“….”
[As you well know, the agents of the Three Realms are embedded in every single faction, and they don’t even know each other.]
Shin San Ja continued speaking.
[They know nothing except for the messengers who issue them orders.]
The reason why the Infinite Realm’s true nature has never been exposed until now.
They operate their agents like a cellular organization, ensuring that no one can ever reach the upper echelons. The chain is completely severed.
The problem is that I learned all of this from the Blue-Eyed Man.
[But there’s a trap even here. It’s that the Infinite Realm isn’t the only force that has revealed itself in Murim.]
Shin San Ja’s voice continued.
[In other words, whether Yeomsa Bu Chanyang’s death was ordered by the Infinite Realm or by another realm remains unclear.]
Bu Eunseol’s patience had reached its limit.
So what’s the conclusion? Who exactly killed my grandfather?
I wanted to cry out, but I kept my lips sealed. Because I had promised not to say a word.
[What is certain is that the Three Realms have extended their reach into the Murim Alliance as well, and Yeomsa Bu Chanyang’s death was… decided by the Three Realms’ forces hidden within the Murim Alliance.]
In short, the Three Realms—which controls the Murim Alliance—was involved in Yeomsa Bu Chanyang’s death.
However, who the executor was and which of the Three Realms carried it out remains unknown.
[This is the entirety of what I know about Yeomsa Bu Chanyang.]
After hearing everything Shin San Ja had to say, Bu Eunseol nodded.
He had given me two pieces of information.
First, that the murderer who killed my grandfather was someone from the Three Realms.
And second, that to find him, I must identify every single person from the Three Realms who has nested within the Murim Alliance.
‘Is this what he wanted?’
If everything he said was true.
My enemy would be the Murim Alliance itself, and I would need to thoroughly investigate the culprits hiding within it.
In other words, Shin San Ja was hoping that Bu Eunseol would become hostile to the Murim Alliance.
“Very well. I have heard you clearly.”
Bu Eunseol stood before the transparent wall and brought both hands together.
Whiiing!
But it was not a gesture of respect.
Red whirlwinds swirled violently around both of Bu Eunseol’s fists as I drew my inner force to its peak.
Fist Demon Seven Forms, Fourth Stage—the most destructive martial art that could be unleashed barehanded, the Annihilation Fist Scripture.
I was about to unleash the Thousand-Hand Technique.
“Haaah!”
A fierce shout erupted from Bu Eunseol’s lips unlike anything before.
Pouring forth all of my formidable inner force accumulated over four hundred years, I struck that transparent wall.
Kuuong!
In that instant, a tremor shook heaven and earth itself.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Yet that opaque barrier merely resonated with a low hum,
bearing not a single scratch even against the full force of the Thousand-Hand Palm technique.
‘A wall forged from true energy?’
Only after Bu Eunseol struck the opaque barrier did she realize it was no ordinary wall—but rather a tremendously dense mass of true energy given tangible form.
‘The Infinite Realm.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened in shock.
Even I, having mastered the Jade Finger Seal, could solidify true energy at will.
But to construct a wall of such thickness would require double my current inner power—
at minimum, eight hundred years of cultivation.
Moreover, that wall was completely black, yet transformed to opacity at Shin San Ja’s voice.
In other words, Shin San Ja could freely create walls of either opaque or transparent nature—essentially conjuring matter that should not exist in this world.
It was impossible for any human to accumulate eight hundred years of cultivation, nor did humans possess the ability to create new matter.
This was not merely a wall of true energy—it was a ‘phenomenon’ Shin San Ja had manifested.
Bu Eunseol’s eyes flew open wide.
Shin San Ja not only vastly surpassed my martial prowess, but was a master who had reached the Infinite Realm—capable of
manifesting ‘phenomena’ itself.
[Impressive.]
Then Shin San Ja’s voice echoed forth.
[To accumulate such power at your age. And to have mastered the heart techniques of both Orthodox and Demonic paths simultaneously.]
Admiration tinged that eerie voice.
[I am pleased. Truly, I have not misjudged character.]
With merely a single strike against the wall,
Shin San Ja had laid bare not only the depth of my inner power, but every martial technique I was cultivating.
[What a waste this would be.]
Shin San Ja hesitated momentarily, then spoke again.
[I shall extend to you a special proposal, my friend.]
And he revealed something unexpected.
[Soon, the Murim Alliance will hold a prestigious tournament, specially inviting exceptional late-stage masters. And through martial contests, they shall select new third-rank Lords.]
“….”
[Since they have already selected capable individuals beforehand—a mere pretense, you understand—but with your abilities, you could certainly dismantle their schemes, could you not?]
Click.
At that very moment, the money box on the table had transformed into a small wooden chest.
[Open it.]
When Bu Eunseol opened the chest, inside lay a silver token and two books.
“What is this?”
[A token proving you are the successor of the Seon Hwa Trading Company, along with the martial techniques he employs. The other is a record containing his personal background.]
Shin San Ja’s voice continued.
[This identity was crafted long ago, so no one could ever find a flaw in it. And with this identity, you shall certainly receive an invitation from the Murim Alliance.]
Remarkably, Shin San Ja was granting me the opportunity to infiltrate the Murim Alliance and expose their secrets.
[If you were to win the martial arts tournament at this gathering of famous masters and become the Lord of a newly established generation, you could handle various missions and elevate your position… Perhaps you could even discover who carried out the assassination of Yeomsa Bu Chanyang.]
“I’ve only come to ask one question in return for your kindness.”
Bu Eunseol asked with a bewildered expression.
“Why go to such lengths?”
She gazed at the opaque wall with cold eyes and continued.
“Do you wish to manipulate me according to your designs?”
[Not at all.]
Shin San Ja spoke in a low voice.
[It is simply because you have captured my interest.]
Whooom.
The opaque wall from which Shin San Ja’s voice emanated was gradually losing its luminescence.
[The choice remains yours alone.]
Whooooom.
With a low vibration, the opaque wall began to fade progressively.
Simultaneously, a small door became visible. It appeared to be a passage through which one could secretly exit Shaolin.
Until now, Shin San Ja had been manifesting this extraordinary phenomenon within the open corridor while conversing with Bu Eunseol.
“I see.”
Bu Eunseol’s expression became hollow, as if she had grasped something.
“Now I understand Shin San Ja’s true identity.”
With Shin San Ja vanished, a sharp gleam flashed across her eyes as she stared at the open corridor.
“The praise for the Seven Lords of the generations—that was meant to make me believe you were one of them. After all, you could never impersonate the Four Gods Seven Kings or the Three Venerables, whose martial arts are distinctive and whose deeds are well-documented.”
Bu Eunseol drew a deep breath.
“But if you intended to deceive me… you should never have revealed that I had mastered the heart sutra of Jeong Ma Yang Do.”
Bu Eunseol murmured softly while gazing at the corridor.
“Jeong Cheon Je, Sin Do Mu Bi.”
Intense heat kindled in her eyes.
“Shin San Ja was merely another identity of the Murim Alliance Master.”
This was not suspicion but a conclusion bordering on certainty.
Shin San Ja had concealed herself freely within Shaolin, an impregnable fortress.
And she had manipulated a secret organization that even Shaolin disciples could not enter.
Moreover, through this secret organization, she had created various trials and tested Bu Eunseol.
Furthermore, she was a master of the Infinite Realm who could manifest extraordinary ‘phenomena’ beyond Bu Eunseol’s imagination.
And she possessed detailed knowledge of the Murim Alliance’s circumstances and had created a perfect identity through which one could easily infiltrate the Murim Alliance’s inner workings.
Could anyone but the Murim Alliance Master, Jeong Cheon Je Sin Do Mu Bi, satisfy all these conditions?
“Of course, the phenomenon of creating a wall with vital energy merely touches the threshold of the Infinite Realm.”
Though the phenomenon of creating the wall was extraordinary, one could not call it the work of a master who had truly entered the Infinite Realm proper.
In other words, creating that wall did not mean reaching the edge of the Infinite Realm as Jeong Ma Ssang Cheon Je.
Nor was it the level of the Three Venerables who had fully attained the Infinite Realm.
But to have grasped at a glance from observing Bu Eunseol’s single strike that she had mastered the heart sutra of Jeong Ma Yang Do?
The Thousand Heart Sutra.
Isn’t it impossible without mastering Sin Do Mu Bi’s exclusive technique—the ability to synchronize with an opponent’s inner cultivation through mere light contact?
“If the Heavenly Heart Sutra reaches its pinnacle, synchronization becomes possible through the flow of true energy fluctuations.”
In the end, Shin San Ja had unconsciously revealed that he was Jeong Cheon Je among the Jeong Ma Ssang Cheon Je.
“Whether Shin San Ja is the Murim Alliance Master or not doesn’t matter.”
Bu Eunseol gazed down at the spirit tablet and secret manual contained within the wooden box.
“If what he said is true, then my grandfather’s killer exists within the Murim Alliance.”
Here too, questions arise.
If Shin San Ja is truly the Murim Alliance Master Sin Do Mu Bi, wouldn’t he be unable to discern the spies of the Three Realms? Or does he know everything but simply refused to share certain information?
“I’ll find out once I go to the Murim Alliance.”
Bu Eunseol reached toward the spirit tablet inside the wooden box.
“With this identity, I can establish myself there without hesitation.”
I am the successor who will become the next master of the Demon Palace.
Ordinarily, I should never use this dual identity to establish a foothold in the Murim Alliance.
But Bu Eunseol harbored no such reservations.
My purpose in entering Murim was solely to find Hyung Su and take revenge.
I had never intended to become the sky of the Demonic Path in the first place.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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